heating up to temp. question. HELP

leov

Newbie

Original poster

May 3, 2014

6

10

• May 25, 2014

• #1

Hello ,

I have a smoke hollow 4-1 smoker. First smoke started today. I have royal oak lump charcoal going with a couple pieces of hickory wood. Have side vent opened up 1/2 " and top chimney opened up 1/2 way. can't get my temp higher than 186 degrees. Can anyone help me with this. I did do ALL the modifications suggested. It turned into a fun and loving project:)

But I'm stuck. I have three slabs of ribs on grate. water pan below them. any suggestions ???? 

Thank you in advance to anyone who could help...

Leo

 

smokinthesmc

Meat Mopper

Jul 5, 2010

211

21

Gilbert, Arizona - Phoenix area

• May 25, 2014

• #2

Is. The charcoal fully lit and hot! What's the weather like? Here in Arizona my smoker gets to 120-140 inside without any fire at all.
Every time you open the lid the temp goes down.
I'd open the e side vent and slightly close the the out going top vent just some. And see where your at in 20 mins

 

biguglysmoker

Meat Mopper

Apr 27, 2014

170

19

Kirkland Il. USA

• May 25, 2014

• #3

Did you start with hot water? I would say open the stack and inlet all the way to get temp up then control by moving vent only. Leaving the stack full open for good draw. That's what I do with my smoke hollow 4-1. I mainly use it as a stick burner and have had at time to keep the fire box door open a crack to improve the air flow. Keep smoking LOW AND SLOW.

 

leov

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

May 3, 2014

6

10

• May 25, 2014

• #4

 I did start with hot water... As of now the smoker is fully hot! I added more charcoal. finally got it up. i realized even opening the fire box top lost me 30 degrees. thought it would be faster to drop coal in. the side door only lost about 10 degrees. I am in NY and it's a pretty hot day out. probably around 85. 

Damn, since cleaning up and writing this its down to 115. UGH!

 

biguglysmoker

Meat Mopper

Apr 27, 2014

170

19

Kirkland Il. USA

• May 25, 2014

• #5

One thing I did add to my 4-1 was a 3/16 thick plate cut to fit under the cook grate of the fire box. It did a lot to keep from losing heat from the lid and direct it to the cook chamber.

 

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gary s

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

OTBS Member

Jan 6, 2011

26,255

4,705

• May 25, 2014

• #6

Is your temp gauge working correctly ?

Gary S

 

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venture

Smoking Guru

OTBS Member

Aug 1, 2008

6,948

73

Central California

• May 25, 2014

• #7

Stock gauges can be way off. Be sure of the actual temp in the pit.

As stated earlier, I would fully open the exhaust vent and the intake vent to get air flow and get you up to temp.  Then leave the exhaust vent fully open and use the intake vent to maintain correct temps.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

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GaryHibbert

Epic Pitmaster

OTBS Member

★ Lifetime Premier ★

Jun 20, 2013

10,099

3,751

Drayton Valley, AB, Canada (Heavy Duty Oilpatch co

• May 25, 2014

• #8

Hey

Welcome to the Smoking  forum.   You’ll find great , friendly people here, all more than willing to answer any question you may have.  Just ask and you’ll get about 10 different answers—all right.  LOL.   Don’t forget to post qviews.

Gary